I. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, and more specifically to techniques for managing respective new transmissions and re-transmissions in a wireless communication system.
II. Background
Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various communication services; for instance, voice, video, packet data, broadcast, and messaging services can be provided via such wireless communication systems. These systems can be multiple-access systems that are capable of supporting communication for multiple terminals by sharing available system resources. Examples of such multiple-access systems include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) systems, and Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) systems.
Generally, a wireless multiple-access communication system can simultaneously support communication for multiple wireless terminals. In such a system, each terminal can communicate with one or more base stations via transmissions on the forward and reverse links. The forward link (or downlink) refers to the communication link from the base stations to the terminals, and the reverse link (or uplink) refers to the communication link from the terminals to the base stations. This communication link can be established via a single-in-single-out (SISO), multiple-in-signal-out (MISO), or a multiple-in-multiple-out (MIMO) system.
To improve the accuracy of information transmitted within a wireless communication system, various techniques for re-transmitting information between communicating entities can be utilized in the event that an initial transmission of the information is unsuccessful. These techniques can include, for example, Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ), Hybrid ARQ (HARQ), or the like. With regard to HARQ operation, information can be communicated to and/or from various network entities according to one or more distinct HARQ processes. Further, a given HARQ process can be shared among multiple types of scheduling such as, for example, dynamic scheduling, semi-persistent scheduling, or the like.
Conventionally, a HARQ process can be associated with a new data indicator (NDI), which can be utilized by a receiver to determine whether a given transmission is a new transmission or a repeat transmission. However, in the event that respective scheduling types shared for a given HARQ process configure the NDI in different manners, determining whether a given transmission is a new transmission or a repeat transmission can cause a receiver associated with the HARQ process to incur significant processing load, memory overhead, and/or other costs in cases where the respective scheduling types are utilized successively in connection with the HARQ process. Accordingly, it would be desirable to implement techniques for managing communications associated with a HARQ process that mitigate at least the above shortcomings.